In recent years the development of wearable electronics has dramatically expanded. Computers with ever-faster computer processors enabled faster communication with increased processing speed and improved analysis of vast quantities of data. In addition, sensor technology has also rapidly expanded how patients have been monitored, even by non-professionals. The development of various sensors enabled a variety of measurements to be taken and analyzed by a computer to generate useful information. The use of medical sensing technology in combination with various communications platforms may provide new and interesting ways for people, including patients, to be monitored or to monitor themselves and communicate the results of the monitoring with their physician or caregiver.
Cardiovascular and other health-related problems, including respiratory problems may be detected by monitoring a patient. Monitoring may allow early and effective intervention, and medical assistance may be obtained based on monitored physiological characteristics before a particular health issue becomes fatal. Unfortunately, most currently available cardiovascular and other types of health monitoring systems are cumbersome and inconvenient (e.g., impractical for everyday use) and in particular, are difficult or impractical to use for long-term monitoring, particularly in an unobtrusive manner.
Clothing that includes sensors have been previously suggested. See, e.g., US2007/0178716 to Glaser et al., which describes a “modular microelectronic-system” designed for use with wearable electronics. US2012/0071039 to Debock et al. describes interconnect and termination methodology fore-textiles that include a “conductive layer that includes conductors includes a terminal and a base separately provided from the terminal. The terminal has a mating end and a mounting end.” US2005/0029680 to Jung et al. describes a method and apparatus for the integration of electronics in textiles. These wearable electronic garments are limited however, in their ability to comfortably and accurately link electronics (including sensors) on the garment.
It has been proposed that patient health parameters, including vital signs (such as ECG, respiration, blood oxygenation, heart rate, etc.) could be actively monitoring using one or more wearable monitors, however, to date such monitors have proven difficult to use and relatively inaccurate. Ideally such monitors could be unobtrusively worn by the subject (e.g., as part of a garment, jewelry, or the like). To date, the wearable electronics garments proposed all suffer from a number of deficits, including being uncomfortable, difficult to use and manufacture, and providing inaccurate results. For example, in applications such as US 2012/0136231, a number of individual electrodes are positioned on the garment and connected to a processor by woven conductive fibers or the like; although such garments “require . . . consistent and firm conductive contact with the subject's skin,” in order to provide accurate readings, such designs require that the garment be restrictive in order to prevent movement of the garment (and thus sensors) contacting these skin regions. Such a configuration rapidly becomes uncomfortable, particularly in a garment that would ideally be worn for many hours or even days. In addition, even such tightly worn garments often move relative to the wearer (e.g., slip or ride up). Further, devices/garments such as those described in the prior art are difficult and expensive to manufacture, and are often rather “fragile”, preventing robust usage and washing. Finally, such devices/garments typically do not allow processing of manual user input directly on the garment, but either relay entirely on passive monitoring, or require an interface of some sort (including off-garment interfaces).
The use of garments including one or more sensors that may sense biometric data have not found widespread use. In part, this may be because such garments may be limited in the kinds and versatility of the inputs that they accept, as well as limits in the comfort, and form factor of the garment. For example, sensors, and the leads providing power to and receiving signals from the sensors have not been fully integrated with the garment in a way that allows the garment to be flexible, attractive, practical, and above all, comfortable. For example, most such proposed garments have not been sufficiently stretchable. Finally, such proposed garments are also limited in the kind of data that they can receive, and how they process the received information.
What is needed are apparatuses (including garments) having multiple sensors that may be comfortably worn, yet provide relatively accurate and movement-insensitive measurements over a sustained period of time. It would also be beneficial to provide garments that can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.
In particular, what is needed are stretchable and conductive connectors that can be attached or applied onto a garment. These stretchable, conductive connectors may be used even with the most stretchable of fabrics, and/or with compression fabrics/compression garments, and moved through numerous stretch/relaxation cycles with the underlying fabric without breaking and while maintaining a stable electrical connection over time and use. The apparatuses, including devices and systems including them described herein may address some or all of the problems identified above.